


friendship bracelets

by SailorChibi



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Blushing Dean, Flirting, M/M, Nervous Dean, Tattoo artist!Cas, Tattoos, cocky Cas, first time tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-10
Updated: 2014-05-10
Packaged: 2018-01-24 04:46:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1592150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorChibi/pseuds/SailorChibi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cas never expected to be so enamored of a nervous guy getting his first tattoo, especially one who is only there 'cause his baby brother just got into Stanford and has a mean set of puppy eyes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	friendship bracelets

**Author's Note:**

> This is something short and silly I wrote back when I was nervous about getting _my_ first tattoo. It was supposed to devolve into sexy times but never quite got there, and I'm not sure what else to do with it but post it.
> 
> btw if you ever get a tattoo be smart about it, ok?

It was automatic by now. As soon as the door opened and Cas saw who was standing there, he said, "You have to be over eighteen to get a tattoo without your parent's permission."

"See, bitch? I told you this was a stupid idea. Let's go."

"Nice try, Dean. I'm nineteen, my birthday today," the kid said to Cas, shaking some hair out of his eyes. "And even if I wasn't, the jerk standing behind me is actually legally my guardian. I know, I find it hard to believe too."

Cas smirked as Dean scowled. "I'll need to see some I.D."

"Sure." Sam Winchester, as the I.D. declared him to be, looked around the room with obvious interest as Cas scrutinized his identification. He tucked his wallet back into his pocket and came out with a neatly folded piece of paper. "This is what we want. Both of us. On our chests. Is that okay?"

"Please say no," Dean said under his breath.

"Yes," Cas said, ignoring him. It was a symbol, five pointed star surrounded by a circle and wavy lines. "I have some free time now, if you're interested."

Sam's eyes lit up. "You have to do my brother first, though. Otherwise he'll run away while my back is turned."

"I would not!"

"If you want to be done at the same time, my partner is out back. Those are some of Anna's works," Cas said, nodding to the wall on the right. His stuff was pictured on the left. "I'll be the one to draw them out. If you prefer, you can wait here, and I'll do you as soon as I'm finished with your brother."

"I don't mind," Sam said, studying the photographs. He looked impressed enough that Cas didn't feel too bad about sending Anna a text even though she was on her lunch break. 

"I'll be back in a minute," he told them, stepping into the back part of the shop. He listened to the sounds of the two brothers moving around, occasionally voicing a comment too low to hear, and smiled to himself.

Anna wandered in about ten minutes later, clutching a sandwich in her hand. She said, "This better be good. I had my eye on a cute pair of shoes."

"You always have your eye on shoes," Cas said. Anna had the most extensive shoe collection of any girl he'd ever met, and she prided herself on being the first to scope out what she claimed were cute but affordable shoes. "Look at it this way, they're good tippers."

"Sounds like you know that for a fact," Anna said, narrowing her eyes, and before he could stop her she was peeking around the corner. "Wow, he's hot."

"Customers."

"Hot customers," she countered. "Dibs on the one with green eyes."

Cas frowned at her.

"Spoilsport," she muttered.

He thrust the design into her hand, not deigning to comment, and she wolfed down the rest of her sandwich and went to wash her hands. He was a little concerned about how Sam might react to her, but his fears proved to be unfounded. Anna switched on the charm with a sultry smile as soon as she stepped out. Sam took one look at her and was instantly smitten, following her to her station like a puppy.

Cas motioned for Dean to follow him into the back room, figuring that privacy might be better, and closed the door. "Are you sure you actually want to go through with this?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Sam might have been all confidence, but Dean sure didn't look that way. He was twitchy with nerves, arms folded defensively across his chest where the tattoo was supposed to go. "I don't work on people who aren't prepared for it."

"Yeah, I do. C'mon Cas, we've talked about this for like the past three weeks. Let's just get it over with." Dean sighed and stripped off his shirt with no warning. Cas swallowed, dropping his gaze. He'd imagined how Dean might look naked, sure. But that was a _very_ nice chest.

"Okay," he said to the floor. "I've got a little bit of paperwork for you to fill out while I get things ready."

Dean read over the information and signed in the appropriate places while Cas prepped his station and, after conferring with Anna, returned with a print of the tattoo. Once Dean was lying down, he carefully cleaned the area, shaved it, and then cleaned it again before he applied the print. It was easier to not think about how hot Dean was when he was focused like this on the blue-purple outline, his mind slowly clearing out as he dropped into his zone. This was his art, his passion, and he was at home here.

For several minutes the only sounds in the room were their combined breathing, the occasional pained hitch from Dean, and the quiet buzzing of the gun. Then, unexpectedly, Dean said, "Worked like a charm, you know. Little bitch couldn't believe it when I told him what his birthday present was. Good thing I made the appointment ahead of time."

"Yes," Cas said, biting his lip to hold back a smile. He could still remember the day Dean walked in. It seemed to have taken most of his courage to get inside the door, never mind put down the deposit to actually make the appointment. "Sam doesn't seem to suspect anything."

"You're a good actor. Thanks for pretending."

"It's no problem." Though why Dean didn't want his brother to know about the planning he'd done, making the appointment and discussing the design with Cas weeks in advance, was beyond him. He hadn't asked and Dean hadn't explained.

Dean fell quiet then, and Cas dipped the needle into the ink and wiped away some blood before continuing. The tattoo was taking shape under his fingers, the deep blue-purple lines slowly giving away to solid black. It wasn't even half finished yet, but it looked good. He leaned a little bit closer.

"Sammy got into Stanford."

Cas blinked at the tanned flesh that was now no more than a handful of inches from his face. He had never realized that it was possible for one short sentence to sound both proud and unbearably sad at the same time. He chanced a glance up, seeing that Dean was staring up at the ceiling like it held answers in invisible ink, and ventured, "That's... quite a distance."

"I know." Dean paused. "This seemed manlier than a friendship bracelet."

Cas chuckled at that. "I can't picture you in a friendship bracelet."

Dean cocked a faint smile. "He didn't say anything to me, but I knew he'd sent in his application all the same. Of course they'd accept him. He's scary smart. That's why... " He hissed out a breath, fist clenching against his thigh. "Now he's leaving and I..." He trailed off.

"You must be very proud."

"I am. He's going to be a lawyer. Keep me outta jail when I screw up and get caught." Dean smiled then, dropping his gaze self-consciously. "He got all the smarts in the family. Dunno what I got."

"Beauty," Cas said without thinking. It took him a second to process what words had just come out of his mouth, but it was totally worth it to see the way Dean blushed. His cheeks turned pink and so did the tips of his ears. It was _adorable_. 

He'd never really felt like this before. Sudden attraction had never been something he had to deal with. His relationships had always been long and complicated. But Dean. Oh God, Dean. The guy had been in the shop for maybe six hours combined, and Cas wanted nothing more than to strip him naked and lick him all over. Slowly. Just to see if he could get that blush to extend to other places.

He licked his lips, mouth suddenly dry. Dean's eyes dropped to follow the movement of his tongue before lifting back up, and Cas found himself staring. 

It was hard to say who moved first, Cas leaning forward or Dean propping himself up on an elbow, but Dean was a fantastic kisser so it didn't really matter. Cas wanted to put the gun down, set the tattoo aside for the time being, and push Dean back on the chair until he had the man writhing in pleasure, not pain. Dean licking into his mouth like he was starving for the contact didn't really help matters. He nibbled at Dean's bottom lip, relishing the soft moan the action earned, before regretfully pulling away.

Dean blinked at him, mouth swollen, and then laughed a little. "This the kinda service you do for all your clients, Cas?"

"Just the cute ones," Cas replied, a comment which earned him another blush. "Hold still. I'm going to finish up now, okay?"

"Yeah, go for it." Dean obediently laid back down, not even flinching at the renewed kiss of the needle against his flesh. Cas did his best to focus on the work, trying to fall into his zone, but that was easier said than done when Dean's nipples were like five inches away from his mouth. He wanted to see how Dean would react to the touch of a tongue or the nip of teeth, but this wasn't the time or place.

Maybe later.

He leaned back on his stool several minutes later and did one last little touch up with the ink, one last swipe with a damp wipe, pleased by the finished product. Even though the skin was swollen around the heavy black lines, it looked awesome. It would look even better when it was fully healed. He fetched a mirror as Dean sat up and held it up for Dean to see, feeling a rush of satisfaction at the way Dean's face split into a pleased grin.

"Dude, that's awesome," Dean said. 

"Worth the pain?"

"Hell yeah."

"Good." Cas flashed him a smile. "I'm gonna put some A & D on it, okay? Then a bandage. Keep it on for at least two hours. You need to wash it with non-scented, anti-bacterial soap a couple times a day and then put a good lotion on." He rattled off the rest of the standard aftercare instructions automatically as he gently smeared some ointment over the new tattoo, then placed a bandage over it. He hoped Dean would be willing to follow them. It was always upsetting to see what happened when people didn't bother.

"Thanks Cas," Dean said, pulling his shirt back on. "Not just for... you know, the tattoo. But for putting up with me over the past couple weeks. I know I've been a pain, eating up your time."

"I'm pleased you like it, Dean." Cas caught his gaze and held it, willing Dean to understand that he meant what he said. Did Dean really think that Cas hadn't liked having him around? Didn't he know that Cas looked forward to their appointments, that he always made Dean the last one of the day so that they'd have more time to talk when their conversations inevitably wandered away from the tattoo? "And you weren't a pain at all. I enjoyed your company and our discussions."

Dean paused, and then it was his turn to smile. "I gotta spend the day with Sammy, but he has a date tonight. Maybe we could have another _discussion_ over burgers." He looked Cas up and down, blatantly lingering on his torso. "You've seen me shirtless, so it only seems fair we even the odds. Besides, I'd like to investigate your tattoos more closely."

Cas just looked at him and smirked. "You'll need to get off more than just my shirt for that."

**Author's Note:**

> My [tumblr](http://tsuki-chibi.tumblr.com/).


End file.
